Adjustable shelf support

ABSTRACT

A first support bracket is adapted for connection at one end to a supporting structure with the other end projecting ouwardly thereof. One end of a second support bracket extends alongside and is movable relative to the first support bracket. A lateral pivot member carried by one support bracket extends through an elongated opening in the other support bracket permitting pivotal and sliding movement therebetween. A lateral stop member carried by one of the support brackets engages a selected one of a plurality of spaced apart, open ended recesses carried by the other support bracket.

Gray

United States Patent i'wi 1111 3,795,379 Mar. 5, 1974 ADJUSTABLE SHELFSUPPORT [75] Inventor: Jerry R. Gray, Birmingham, Ala.

73 Assignee: EBSCO Industries, The,

Birmingham, Ala.

[22] Filed: Sept. 13, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 288,521

52 us. cl. 248/242, 403/99- [51] Int. Cl A47g 29/02 [58] Field ofSearch248/242; 403/99 [56] References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,426,9932/1969 .Johansson 248/242 3,463,433 8/1969 Stein et al...; 248/2423,700,114 10/1972 Myers 248/242 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 495,97911/1938 Great Britain,.. 248/242 Primary ExaminerWilliam H. SchultzAttorney, Agent, Thompson or Firm-Jennings, Carter 8:

[57] I ABSTRACT A first support, bracket is adapted for connection atone end to a supporting structure with the other end projecting ouwardlythereof. One end of a second support bracket extends alongside and ismovable relative to the first support-bracket. A lateral pivot membercarried by one support bracket extends through an elongated opening inthe other support bracket permitting pivotal and sliding'movementtherebetween. A lateral stop member carried by one of the supportbrackets engages a selected one of a plurality of spaced apart, openended recesses carried by the other support bracket.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to an adjustable shelf support and more particularly to such asupport which is adapted to retain a shelf at selected angular positionsrelative to its support whereby the shelf maybe supported inan outwardlyand upwardly extending position, an outwardly and downwardly extendingposition and at selected positions therebetween.

I-Ieretofore in the art to which my invention relates, various types ofshelf supports have been proposed. whereby shelves may be supported atselected vertical positions. However, difficulties have been encounteredin providing shelves which may be adjusted to selected angular positionsrelative to the supporting structure. In displaying various articles forsale, it is very desirable to have a shelf which may be supported atselected angular positions whereby the shelf may be supported in ahorizontal plane or in planes which extend outwardly and upwardly oroutwardly and downwardly. For example, in displaying greeting cards orthe like, it is desirable to provide shelf supports which extendoutwardly and downwardly relative to the supporting structure wherebythe greeting cards are supported in tiers arranged at differentelevations in easy. view of the customer. On the other hand, it is oftendesirable to have support brackets which extend outwardly and upwardlyto retain articles being displayed in place.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with my invention, Iprovide a support bracket adapted for connection at one end to asupporting structure with the other end projecting ouwardly thereof. Oneend of a second support bracket extends alongside the first supportbracket and is adapted for both pivotal and sliding movement relativethereto. A laterally extending pivot member is carried by one supportbracket and extends through an elon gated opening in the other supportbracket. A lateral stop member is carried by one of the-support bracketsin position to engage a selected one of a plurality of angularly spaced,open endedrecesses carried bythe other support bracket wherebythe-support brackets are retained at selected angularpositions relativeto each other. The elongated opening in the other of said supportbrackets extends upwardly adjacent one end thereof to receive andrestrain longitudinal movement of the pivot member relative to theelongated opening upon movement of the stop member into engagement withan open ended recess.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS A shelf support embodying features of myinvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming a part ofthis application, in which:

FIG. 1 is aside elevational view, partly broken away and in sectionshowing the shelf support locked in a position to support a shelf in ahorizontal plane;

FIG. 2 is a side elevationalview, partly broken away and in section anddrawn to a smaller scale and showing tiers of articles arranged atdifferent'elevations with the shelf support extending outwardly anddownwardly;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, partly broken away and in section anddrawn to a smaller scale than FIG.

1 showing the shelf support extending outwardly and upwardly; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 44 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawing for a better understandingof my invention, I show a supporting structure 10 which may be in theform of a channel-like member having a web 11 with flanges 12 atopposite sides thereof. Vertically spaced, elongated slots 13 areprovided in the web 11 for receiving cooperating locking members 14carried by one end of a first support bracket 16. In view of the factthat the cooperating slots 13 and locking members 14 constituteconventional means for attaching brackets to channel-like supportmembers, no further description thereof is deemed necessary.

My improved adjustable support bracket comprises the support bracket 16adapted for connection at one end to the supporting structure 10 withthe other end of the bracket 16 projecting outwardly of the supportingstructure), as shown. Extending alongside the outwardly projecting endof the support bracket 16 is one end of a second support bracket 17which is adapted for movement relative to the support bracket 16.

A laterally projecting pivot member 18 is carried by the outwardlyprojecting end of the support bracket 16. An elongated opening 19 isprovided in the support bracket 17 for receiving the laterallyprojecting pivot member 18 with a sliding fit whereby the supportbracket 17 is adapted for both sliding and pivotal movement relative tothe support bracket 16.

A laterally projecting stop member 21 is carried by the support bracket16 in position to engage a selected one of a plurality of angularlyspaced, open ended recesses 22 provided in the adjacent end of thesupport bracket 17 upon movement of the support bracket 17 toward thesupporting structure 10 to thus lock the support brackets 16 and 17 atselected angular positions relative to each other. That is, upon movingthe support bracket 17 in one direction, toward the supporting structure10, the stop member 21 moves into engage ment with a selected one of therecesses 22 to thus lock the support brackets at a selected angularposition relative to each other. On the other hand, upon moving thesupport bracket 17 in the opposite direction, away from the supportingstructure 10, the stop member 21 moves out of engagement with the openended recess 22 to thus permit free movement of the support bracket 17to align either of the other outwardly opening recesses 22 with the stopmember 21. In FIG. 1 of the drawing, I show the support bracketextending in a generally horizontal plane. FIG. 2 shows the supportbracket 17 rotated to a position to align its lowermost, outwardlyopening recess 22 with the stop member 21 whereby the support bracket 17extends in an outwardly and downwardly extending direction. With thesupport bracket 17 in the position shown in FIG. 2, the support bracket17 is particularly adapted for supporting a shelf member 23 fordisplaying tiers of articles 24 at different elevations whereby thearticles are displayed in easy view of customers. In FIG. 3, the supportbracket 17 is shown as extending outwardly and upwardly with theuppermost recess 22 registering with the stop member 21 to thus supporta shelf or the like in an inclined position.

The end of the elongated slot 19 which receives the pivot member 18while the stop member 21 is in engagement with a selected one of theopen ended recesses 22 extends upwardly as at 26 providing a recesswhich communicates with the elongated slot 19 to receive and restrainlongitudinal movement of the pivot member 18 relative to the elongatedopening upon movement of the stop member into a selected recess 22, asshown. The weight of the shelf or article positioned on the supportbracket 17 prevents movement of the pivot member 18 out of the upwardlyextending portion 26 of slot 19 until the support bracket 17 is pivotedupwardly whereupon the pivot member 18 may then move longitudinally ofthe elongated slot 19.

The end of the pivot member 18 outwardly of the support bracket 19 isenlarged in diameter as at 27 to restrain lateral movement of thesupport bracket 17. Also, the end of the pivot member 18 outwardly ofthe support bracket'16 may be provided with an enlarged diameter portion28 which limits lateral movement of the support bracket 16. However, itwill be understood that the pivot member 18 may be secured to thesupport bracket 16, if desired. The end of stop member 21 is alsoprovided with an enlarged diameter portion to restrain lateral movementof bracket 17.

From the foregoing description, the operation of my improved adjustableshelf support will be readily understood. When it is desired to supporta shelf in a horizontal plane, the movable support bracket 17 is movedto the position shown in FIG. 1 and moved toward the supportingstructure whereby the stop member 21 enters the outwardly opening recess22 in alignment therewith. With the stop member 21 in the recess 22, thesupport bracket 17 is moved downwardly whereupon the pivot member 18enters the upwardly extending portion 26 of the elongated opening 19 tothus retain the support bracket 17 in a fixed position until the supportbracket 17 is lifted to remove the pivot member 18 from the upwardlyextending portion 26. To move the support bracket 17 to a selectedposition relative to the support bracket 16, the support bracket 17 ismoved away from the support member 10 whereby the stop member 21 movesout of engagement with the outwardly opening recess 22 in alignmenttherewith, thus permitting free movement of the support bracket 17 to adesired angular position relative to the support bracket 16. The supportbracket 17 may thus be secured in position to extend outwardly anddownwardly relative to the support bracket 16, as shown in FIG. 2 or maybe supported in position to extend outwardly and upwardly, as shown inFIG. 3.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that l have devised an improvedadjustable shelf support. By providing a shelf support which may bemoved to selected angular positions the shelf may be supported in anoutwardly and upwardly extending position, an outwardly and downwardlyextending position or at selected positions therebetween. Also, byproviding the upwardly extending portion 26 at one end of the elongatedopening 19, thesupport bracket 17 is retained positively in a fixedposition to thus prevent accidental release of the outwardly openingrecess 22 from engagement with the stop member 21. Furthermore, byproviding an adjustable shelf support which carries conventional typemeans for attaching the support to a supporting structure, my improvedshelf support requires no modification for attachment of the same to theusual supporting structure for shelves or the like.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptibleof various other changes and modifications without departing from thespirit thereof.

What I claim is:

1. An adjustable shelf support comprising:

a. a first support bracket adapted for connection at one end to asupporting structure with the other end thereof projecting outwardly ofsaid supporting structure,

b. a second support bracket having one end thereof extending alongsideand adapted for movement relative to the outwardly projecting end ofsaid first support bracket,

c. a laterally projecting pivot member carried by one of said supportbrackets,

d. an elongated slot in the other of said support brackets disposed toreceive said pivot member with a sliding fit permitting pivotal andsliding movement of said support brackets relative to each other,

e. a laterally projecting stop member carried by one of said supportbrackets disposed to engage a selected one of a plurality of angularlyspaced, open ended recesses carried by the adjacent end of the other ofsaid support brackets upon relative movement of said support brackets inone direction whereby said support brackets are locked in a selectedangular position relative to each other and disposed to move out ofengagement with said selected one of said open ended recesses uponrelative movement of said support brackets in an opposite direction, andan upwardly extending recess in said other of said support brackets incommunication with the end of said elongated slot which receives saidpivot member while said stop member is in engagement with a selected oneof said open ended recesses in position to receive and restrainlongitudinal movement of said pivot member relative to said elongatedslot upon movement of said stop member into engagement with a selectedone of said open ended recesses.

2. An adjustable shelf support as defined in claim 1 in which said pivotmember and said stop member are each provided with an enlarged diameterend portion disposed to engage the other of said support brackets torestrain lateral movement of said support brackets relative to eachother.

3. An adjustable shelf support as defined in claim 1 in which said openended recesses are positioned to retain said second support bracketselectively in an outwardly and upwardly extending position, anoutwardly and downwardly extending position and positions therebetween.

1. An adjustable shelf support comprising: a. a first support bracketadapted for connection at one end to a supporting structure with theother end thereof projecting outwardly of said supporting structure, b.a second support bracket having one end thereof extending alongside andadapted for movement relative to the outwardly projecting end of saidfirst support bracket, c. a laterally projecting pivot member carried byone of said support brackets, d. an elongated slot in the other of saidsupport brackets disposed to receive said pivot member with a slidingfit permitting pivotal and sliding movement of saId support bracketsrelative to each other, e. a laterally projecting stop member carried byone of said support brackets disposed to engage a selected one of aplurality of angularly spaced, open ended recesses carried by theadjacent end of the other of said support brackets upon relativemovement of said support brackets in one direction whereby said supportbrackets are locked in a selected angular position relative to eachother and disposed to move out of engagement with said selected one ofsaid open ended recesses upon relative movement of said support bracketsin an opposite direction, and f. an upwardly extending recess in saidother of said support brackets in communication with the end of saidelongated slot which receives said pivot member while said stop memberis in engagement with a selected one of said open ended recesses inposition to receive and restrain longitudinal movement of said pivotmember relative to said elongated slot upon movement of said stop memberinto engagement with a selected one of said open ended recesses.
 2. Anadjustable shelf support as defined in claim 1 in which said pivotmember and said stop member are each provided with an enlarged diameterend portion disposed to engage the other of said support brackets torestrain lateral movement of said support brackets relative to eachother.
 3. An adjustable shelf support as defined in claim 1 in whichsaid open ended recesses are positioned to retain said second supportbracket selectively in an outwardly and upwardly extending position, anoutwardly and downwardly extending position and positions therebetween.